The team exceeded their campaign goals by garnering more than 1,000 pledges from students committing to complete the U.S. Census and successfully raised awareness of the importance of completing the 2010 U.S. Census. The team used the theme “Get engaged with the U.S. Census.”

Teams were judged on the basis of research, creativity, execution, effectiveness, planning and evaluation. The judges noted students showed a “clever, creative use of the Census hand, good use of word association, including messaging of commitment.”

“You tied your theme into the message of the Census, and it’s clear you put a lot of thought into this and had fun with it,” the judges commented.

Wisconsin topped the nation in 2010 U.S. Census return rates at 81 percent, and Oshkosh, at 85 percent, ranked in the top 50 cities with highest return rates nationwide.